Fact check: False claim that NATO sent fighter jets to Ukraine

Molly Stellino, USA TODAY
·5 min read
5

The claim: NATO fighter jets arrived in Ukraine

The U.S. and its allies have sent billions of dollars worth of equipment and weapons to  Ukraine to help it fend off a Russian invasion. This has included howitzers, Javelin missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft systems and drones.

A viral Facebook post claims NATO sent Ukraine a new weapon: fighter jets.

“Finally: NATO Most Lethal Fighter Jets Arrive in Ukraine,” reads the caption of an Aug. 17 Facebook post. The post includes a link to an article from newcarz.com bearing the same title that has been shared nearly 100 times.

Other versions of the post have appeared on Twitter, and an identically titled YouTube video that includes the same image as the post has amassed more than 400,000 views.

But the claim is false. A Nato spokesperson confirmed the organization has not sent any fighter jets. The NATO secretary general stated the alliance will not be supplying planes, as it would be considered an escalation of the conflict.

The article linked in the post does not include any evidence to support the claim. Instead, it discusses “the possibility of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine.” The YouTube video embedded in the article also lacks proof of the post's claim.

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USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the claim for comment.

Officials have said no fighter jets will be sent to Ukraine

"NATO is not a party to the conflict and has not sent any fighter aircraft to Ukraine," said Matthias Eichenlaub, a NATO press officer.

Indeed, a NATO web page detailing the alliance's response to Russia's invasion states its actions are "defensive, designed not to provoke conflict but to prevent conflict."

Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Strategic Center for International Studies, called the claim “totally bogus.”

Cancian explained that it would be useless for NATO to send fighter jets to Ukraine without also sending the pilots necessary to train the Ukrainians on how to use them. This move, however, would be in violation of NATO's prior commitment to not send troops into Ukraine and would likely be viewed as an escalation of the conflict.

“You’d have to send over a whole U.S. squadron to fly and operate this equipment, and that would be a huge escalation of the war,” Cancian said. He also noted that the task of teaching the Ukrainians to operate the jets would take at least a year.

Asked whether NATO would supply Ukraine with fighter jets at a March 1 press conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “NATO is not to be part of the conflict. NATO is not going to send the troops into Ukraine or move planes into Ukrainian airspace.”

A local man cuts pieces of firewood in Kivsharivka, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. As temperatures drop below freezing in eastern Ukraine, those who haven't fled from the heavy fighting, regular shelling, and months of Russian occupation are now on the threshold of a brutal winter and digging in for the cold months.
A local man cuts pieces of firewood in Kivsharivka, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. As temperatures drop below freezing in eastern Ukraine, those who haven't fled from the heavy fighting, regular shelling, and months of Russian occupation are now on the threshold of a brutal winter and digging in for the cold months.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said during the same press conference that Poland, a NATO member, would also not be sending fighter jets to Ukraine.

"We are not sending any jets to Ukraine because that would open a military interference in the Ukrainian conflict," he said. "We are not joining that conflict. NATO is not a party to that conflict."

President Joe Biden has also pledged not to send U.S. troops to Ukraine. “Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict," said Biden shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. "Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east."

Post provides no evidence

Neither the article nor the YouTube video included in the article provides evidence to support the claim that NATO sent fighter jets to Ukraine.

Rather, the article linked in the post references “the possibility of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine” and notes that the move is being "actively discussed." It does not attribute this speculation to a source, nor does it offer proof that the transfer has already happened, as the headline claims.

The YouTube video also lacks evidence. It merely discusses the capabilities of different military aircraft.

The thumbnail of the article, which is featured prominently in the Facebook post, shows an F-22 being unloaded from a military transport aircraft. The image was published in Code One Magazine, a publication by defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin and was taken on Feb. 5, 1998, long before Russia invaded Ukraine.

AFP Fact Check and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

USA TODAY previously debunked false claims about the war in Ukraine, including that a BBC reporter pretended to be on the frontlines and that Russia’s invasion was staged.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that NATO fighter jets arrived in Ukraine. A NATO press officer said no such deal has been made, and NATO and its allies have said they will not send planes to Ukraine, as it would be considered an escalation of the conflict.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that NATO sent fighter jets to Ukraine